study buddies
by AGENT Kuma-chan
Summary: Annette did not know what to make of Felix and his way too close proximity.


**Title: **study buddies

**A/N:** For Captain Coopa, for the Felannie exchange! I hope you like this—it's a lot of fun writing Annie.

**Summary:** _Annette did_

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_There are several kinds of magic in the world, all connected with various aspects of nature._

Annette chewed her lip as she read from the book Lysithea had given her. Or rather, as she reread the book. There was no denying that Lysithea was a genius. No matter how many times Annette studied the paragraph, it made just as much sense as it had the first time she'd read it. "This is impossible," she moaned, frustrated.

"What is?" Felix asked.

Annette tried not to jump. Or well, sit straight—it was kind of hard to jump when she was sitting on the ground. She'd almost forgotten that she was outside, sitting under a tree in one of the academy's many courtyards. Even worse, she hadn't remembered at all that Felix was with her, practicing his footwork as she read.

That was a close call. Sometimes, when she was stuck on a problem, Annette liked to hum or sing a silly song as she worked it out. Harmless fun, really.

Harmless fun except for the fact that Felix never forgot a song. Even now he sometimes asked for her watering song, specifically for the parts with mountains of steak and cake. If he heard her sing about studying, he wouldn't let her live it down until they were like eighty.

She wasn't sure how to feel about knowing Felix till she was eighty.

Resignation, probably.

"What is impossible?" Felix repeated, raising a brow as he lowered his sword. Sliding it back in its sheath, he approached her and crouched down beside her as he scanned her book. "What you're reading?"

"Yes!" Annette squeaked, forced out of her thoughts. He was just next to her now, his face way too close, and for a man who hated having others intrude on his personal space, it was like he had no concept of it for others. Or maybe it was just with her. When he stared her, a questioning look on his face, she added, "The theory…it's a little beyond me. I'm not sure if I'm just not grasping it or if I am but I just can't apply it. I need to be able to do this in order to get the more difficult ones later one but…it just seems impossible."

"I see." He sat down beside her, their knees almost touching, and she felt a jolt up her leg. Felix skimmed the page. "I'm not really a mage so I might not be of much use here, but—"

"Why are you here?" Annette blurted and shit, that was supposed to be her inner voice, not her outer. Her skin was too hot, her heart beating too fast, and it was hard to think. To concentrate. She could hear him breathing and her temperature went up.

"Trying to help you," Felix replied bluntly, giving her a deadpan look. It was like he wasn't bothered at all by their proximity, the bastard. "What else?"

Of course he didn't see it as rude. Annette sighed in relief, not sure if she could have continued that line of questioning. It had been one thing when Felix stumbled upon her by accident, entirely another when he started seeking her out on purpose. She still wasn't sure what to make of it and what if he had answered her question seriously? How was she supposed to take that? What if he said things like in Mercedes' romance books?

What expression was she supposed to make then?

Annette felt her face flush at the answer and she didn't want to know what she would have done. His knee bumped into hers and she could feel the touch intensely, his heat radiating off him in waves, and Annette quickly pushed Felix away. "T-that's fine. I need to figure this out on my own."

A little surprised, Felix stumbled onto his feet. He glanced at her before shrugging. "Sure, I wouldn't be much help anyways."

"Yeah, so get back to sword practice or whatever it was you were doing." Annette pushed him again.

Without further encouragement, Felix drew his sword once more. It was so silent, the entire process. No wonder she hadn't noticed he was there. "Sing a song," he requested blithely.

Annette bristled. "I'm not your personal songstress. You're just going to make fun of me again."

"I won't," Felix replied immediately. It was impossible to decipher him. Felix was usually a serious person but his humour, while non-existent, ran on the dry side of things.

He could be making fun of her. Or, less likely, he genuinely liked her songs. Annette bit her lip, considering it. Felix was still waiting, his fingers drumming his thigh impatiently. "Fine, I'll do it."

He brightened up, his lips almost twitching into a smile. There was a twinkle in his eyes. "Great."

How was she supposed to respond to that? Annette swallowed, her mind running through every word and lyrical flow she knew of. "Swords are for swinging—" Felix was still watching her, staring at her, and she was intensely aware of every syllable she uttered, every sound she'd made. Of just how silly her words were. His eyes were trained on hers, large and unblinking, and her skin burned from the scrutiny.

"Swords are for swinging?" he repeated, urging her on.

"I'll figure out the rest later." She cut off her song, too aware of him. "I need to study."

He looked a little off-put about it. "Why not now?"

"I almost figured out the book," she continued, more to convince herself than to convince him. "I just need to work on it a little more before I lose it." Before he could say anything, Annette pulled up her book, hiding behind its thick pages.

It didn't offer enough defense. Even now, she could feel his eyes on her. Maybe she was sick. That had to be it. It would explain the butterflies in her stomach and why her heart was beating way too fast.

Annette was sick. Maybe there was a spell in the book that would fix all of that, if she just read long and hard enough.


End file.
